Published December 2015  •  Updated February 2024  •  Read Time: 8 minutes
Blue Chalcedony is a rare translucent blue mineral which is sometimes described as a Chalcedony and sometimes as an Agate.  Each deposit has a slightly different shade of blue which can make them more easily identifiable.  Some of these varieties have distinct names, such as “Holly Blue” or “Ellensberg Blue.”  A distinctive true-blue variety found in Namibia is usually just called Blue Chalcedony.  It is a stone for good communication that is both calm and light-hearted.  Its energy helps us to be open to new ideas and to understand abstract concepts.  It is especially good to have nearby when discussing highly-polorizing topics like religion and politics.

Blue Chalcedony blue chalcedony meaning

Blue Chalcedony Meaning

Spiritual Healing Properties

Blue Chalcedony is a wonderful communication stone for prayer, channeling, and spiritual writing, helping us to both hear accurately and to communicate our own thoughts clearly. It provides centering and a reminder of who we truly are, from our highest spiritual vibration, through our emotional and mental bodies, and down to our basic animal self. Blue Chalcedony teaches us that all of these parts of us are good and worthy of attention and respect. Blue Chalcedony repairs the energy fields in the aura and along the meridians, sealing any holes caused by trauma or neglect.

Metaphysical Properties Blue Chalcedony
Chakra Throat and Third Eye
Element Water
Numerology 9
Zodiac C0ancer and Sagittarius

Emotional Healing Properties

Blue Chalcedony has a calm, cool, and lighthearted energy that is very soothing to the emotional body. It enhances our self-awareness and encourages us to be more responsible, without becoming overly serious. Blue Chalcedony reduces the power of both anger and fear. It gently dissolves anxiety, particularly that which is related to public speaking, performing, or emotionally charged conversations. It helps us to carefully consider our words and their effect, while being optimistic that we will be clearly heard and understood. Blue Chalcedony is an excellent stone for working with our Inner Child, especially if that part of us has felt misunderstood or dismissed for far too long. It encourages us to be more friendly and open, and to enjoy the company of all beings; human, animal, plant, and mineral!

Mental Healing Properties

Blue Chalcedony improves memory and mental dexterity. It can be used to help us learn foreign languages, understand complex ideas, and be more diplomatic in our own speaking. Blue Chalcedony inspires creativity, particularly for writers, and calls in the muse for guidance when creating abstract works of art. It encourages us to be more open to new ideas, including ideas in highly-charged topics like politics, religion and sex. Blue Chalcedony helps us to truly listen and to be willing to integrate new information into our existing framework, or even to shift into an entirely new paradigm if necessary. Such mental shifts are done gently so that we are not emotionally or mentally overwhelmed.

Physical Healing Properties

Blue Chalcedony is used by metaphysical healers for healing anything related to the throat and respiratory tract. It is believed to be especially good for vocal strain, due to singing/shouting as well as damage caused by smoking. It is believed to reduce extreme weather sensitivity, as well as pressure in the eyes and ears. Blue Chalcedony is also said to encourage lactation in new mothers and reduce weight retention, making it an excellent postpartum crystal.

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Blue Chalcedony Mineralogy

Where does Blue Chalcedony come from?

Chalcedony is found all over the world and in every shade of the rainbow.

Blue Chalcedony comes from Austria, Great Britain, Namibia, Spain, and the United States

Mining and Treatments

Chalcedony is a common mineral that is not valuable enough to be the primary focus of any large-scale mining operation.  It is however commonly mined in tandem with other precious metals and minerals.  It is typically mined from primary deposits which still have their original relationship with the host rock, usually in small-scale artisanal mining environments.  It may also be found in rivers and on beaches around the world, however, when it is alluvially mined it is more likely to be called an Agate.

All Chalcedony may be considered fully natural, enhanced only by cutting, tumbling, and polishing. Specific shades and patterns are often used to identify a specific deposit.  For example, light-blue Chalcedony is found in California and Nevada, while a lavender-hued Chalcedony (sometimes called Holly Blue Agate) is found north in Oregon, while true-blue Chalcedony is commonly found in Namibia.

Natural chalcedony can appear in any color, but typically has a soft shade.  Harsh colors like “hot pink” or “neon blue” usually indicate that the stone has been dyed.  If such bright shades are natural, the stone will most likely be expensive and have some irregularities.  But if it appears to be basically perfect and relatively cheap, they have almost certainly been enhanced in a factory environment.

Blue Chalcedony Placeholder
Blue Chalcedony

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Mineral Family

Blue Chalcedony is a member of the Quartz family, a group of silicate minerals.  Silicates are minerals which contain the elements Silicon (a light gray shiny metal) and Oxygen (a colorless gas). There are six main groups of Silicate minerals, and these main groups are further subdivided into secondary subdivisions, such as Quartz and Feldspar. Quartz is divided into two main groups, macrocrystalline and microcrystalline.  Macrocrystalline quartz has well-formed crystals that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye, for example, Amethyst or Clear Quartz.  Microcrystalline quartz has crystals so small they can only be seen through a microscope.  These are typically grouped together under the name Chalcedony, or it’s subcategories Agate and Jasper.  Microcrystalline quartz can be colorless or appear in every shade of the rainbow.

Blue Chalcedony’s energy works well with its family – other Chalcedony minerals.  Try it in combination with Carnelian, Chrome Chalcedony, Chrysoprase, Onyx, Pink Chalcedony, and Snow Quartz

Blue Chalcedony Formation and Crystal Associates

Chalcedony are created after a volcanic explosion has transformed magma and lava into igneous rock. During the cooling down period, various gases form bubbles, which then become hollow spaces in the igneous rock.  The rocks also shift and break, creating empty cracks, fissures and other hollows.  Chalcedony are formed long afterwards, when silica-bearing water permeates the rocks and begins to fill these hollow spaces.  As the space fills, the water evaporates leaving the silica behind to harden into a Chalcedony. The silica-water may have picked up trace minerals along the way, which result in different colors and patterns in the new stone. Blue Chalcedony may be created by inclusions of Iron, Nickel, Copper and/or Titanium.

Blue Chalcedony’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment.  Try it in combination with Blue Lace Agate, Clear Quartz and Copper.

Mineralogy Blue Chalcedony
Chemical Formula SiO2
Cleavage None
Color Blue
Crystal System Hexagonal/triagonal
Form/Habit Microcrystalline
Fracture Uneven
Hardness – Mohs Scale 7
Luminescence Greenish-white (long wave) / Green (short wave)
Luster Vitreous
Mineral Family Tectosilicate
Specific Gravity 2.7
Streak White
Transparency Opaque

Chalcedony vs Agate vs Jasper

Chalcedony is a large category name for microcrystalline Quartz.  It is typically translucent-opaque, a single solid color, and changes from liquid silica to a hard mineral quickly.  If it forms more slowly, it can form bands of colors or get organic-looking dendritic growths.  When this happens, the Chalcedony is more likely to be called an Agate.  If the silica-water carries larger inclusions, it may form into an opaque spotted stone, at which point it is known as Jasper.  Commercial names are not always consistent however.  Sometimes a spotted igneous rock will be sold as a Jasper.  Likewise, sometimes an opaque Chalcedony might be sold as a Quartz.  For example, from a scientific perspective, Snow Quartz is more accurately called white Chalcedony.

History of Blue Chalcedony

Chalcedony is a large mineral family that includes all of the Agates and Jaspers as well as opaque Quartz in every color of the rainbow.  But, in antiquity, the name Chalcedony referred to a specific translucent mineral whose color ranged from milky-white to pale blue.  The name Chalcedony is believed to come from the ancient seaport of Chacedon, which today is a district in modern Istanbul, Turkey.

The earliest reference to Chalcedony is found in De Virtutibus Lapidum (The Virtue of Stones) by Damigeron (2nd century CE).  It states, “The stone Chalcedony is bored in iron: he who wears it conquers.” A thousand years later, Chalcedony was included in the Aberdeen Bestiary (12th century), “it signifies the charity which is within us, hidden in the heart… Anyone who carry it will, it is said, be successful in lawsuits.” In the 14th century, the Lapidaire of Chevalier Jean de Mandeville reveals that Chalcedony offers protection from storms, both natural and those found in the heat of battle.

Medieval medical texts, including Speculum Lapidum (The Mirror of Stones) prescribed Chalcedony to strengthen the eyes and treat eye diseases, to increase lactation in new mothers, as well as a cure for depression. It was specifically suggested that Chalcedony be worn as a bead and strung on donkey’s hair for best results, regardless of what specific protection, healing or good luck, was desired from the stone!  When studying Chalcedony, it is beneficial to also explore donkey as a totem animal.  Donkeys are hardworking, intelligent, and patient.  They can be stubborn and resistant to change, but they are willing to serve others and work for the greater good.  They thrive when offered kindness and humbly keep their faith in a better tomorrow.

Natural blue stones are relatively rare, and in the case of Blue Chalcedony each deposit has its own distinctive shade. As a result, many of the deposits have distinct names associated with them, such as Ellensburg Blue (found near Ellensburg, Washington USA), Holly Blue Agate (found near Holly, Oregon) and Mount Airy Blue Agate (found near Mount Airy, Nevada).

Donkey, Pink Chalcedony, Blue Chalcedony, Chrome Chalcedony

Additional References:

  1. Aberdeen Manuscript, Folio 97, https://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/ms24/f97v
  2. Camillus Leonardus. Speculum Lapidum: The Mirror of Stones. (Venice, 1502), p.81
  3. Damigeron. De Virtutibus Lapidum. Translated by Patricia Tahil. (Seattle: Ars Obscura, 1989), p.48
  4. Jean de Mandeville. Le Lapidaire. (France, 1371), in Gems in Myth, Legend and Lore. Bruce Knuth (Parachute, CO: Jewelers Press, 2007)  p.63
  5. Knuth, Bruce G. Gems in Myth, Legend, and Lore (Parachute, CO: Jewelers Press, 2007), p.62-64
  6. Mindat.org, “Chalcedony,” https://www.mindat.org/min-960.html
  7. Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis, 37:37
  8. What’s My Spirit Animal, “Donkey,” https://whatismyspiritanimal.com/spirit-totem-power-animal-meanings/mammals/donkey-symbolism-meaning/

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